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The Eight Great Stupas of the Conquerors
These teachings come from Jigme Lingpa and Jamgön Kongtrul. The descriptions of the shape and so on are quoted by Jamgön Kongtrul from Nagarjuna’s Eulogy to the Stupas of the Eight Supreme Places. The eight stupas of the conquerors refer to the eight principal deeds of the Buddha. Various esoteric instructions have stated that since all stupas contain relics of the sacred teachings, in the form of mantras, they can all be considered offering receptacles of the dharmakaya. Therefore, even if they do not contain bones or other sacred relics of Buddha Shakyamuni, the construction of any of these eight stupas is still valid today.
1) Stupa of the Sugatas
The Stupa of the Sugatas, also known as the Stupa of Heaped Lotuses or the Stupa of Auspicious Origin, was built by King Shuddhodana at Lumbini to celebrate the birth of Shakyamuni Buddha. It is round and adorned with lotus petals stacked in four or seven lotus tiers.
2) Stupa of Supreme Enlightenment
The Stupa of Supreme Enlightenment is also called the Conquest of Mara Stupa and was built by King Bimbisara to commemorate the time when Buddha overcame the hosts of maras and attained complete enlightenment at Vajrasana. It is square with four tiers.
3) Stupa of the Wheel of the Sacred Teachings
The Stupa of the Wheel of the Sacred Teachings is also known as the Stupa of Many Auspicious Doors or the Stupa of Pristine Cognition and was built by Buddha’s first sangha of five monks, to commemorate his first turning of the wheel of dharma at Sarnath near Varanasi. It is square with four tiers and a boxlike decorative projection (lombur) at the center of each level on the four sides. The most elaborate of this type of stupa has sixteen doors spaced evenly along the tiers and projections of each side, symbolizing the sixteen kinds of emptiness. The middling has twelve doors on each side, symbolizing the twelve links of dependent origination. The least elaborate has eight doors on each side, symbolizing the eight emancipations.
4) Stupa of Miracles
The Stupa of Miracles or Stupa Defeating Extremists was built by Licchavis, a noble famiy of Magadha, to commemorate the miracles that Buddha performed at the Jetavana Grove in Shravasti, which caused him to win a debate against another master. This is either square with four tiers and a projecting bay on each side or it can be round, with four tiers in the form of lotus petals.
5) Stupa of the Descent from Heaven
The Stupa of the Descent from Heaven, or the Stupa of the Thirty-Three Gods, was built by the people of Dyutimat to commemorate the time when Buddha, sojourning at Dyutimat in Vaishali, performed a rain retreat ceremony at Tushita heaven and established his deceased mother in the truth, before descending to Lanka in Jambudvipa in the afternoon. It has four or eight tiers with a projecting bay on each side, each with a ladder in the center.
6) Stupa of Reconciliation
The Stupa of Reconciliation, also known as the Stupa of Solar Rays or the Stupa of Manifest Loving-Kindness, was built by the people of Magadha to commemorate the time when Buddha reconciled quarreling factions of the sangha at the Bamboo Grove, after Devadatta had tried to provoke a split within the sangha. It is square with four tiers, all evenly truncated.
7) Stupa of Complete Victory
The Stupa of Complete Victory, or Stupa of Blessings, was built by the people of Vaishali to commemorate the time when the Buddha empowered his own life span to prolong his life for a further three months at Vaishali. This stupa is round with three tiers.
8) The Stupa of Parinirvana
The Stupa of Parinirvana was built at Kushinagara to commemorate the Buddha’s parinirvana. This stupa has no tiers and is positioned directly above the dome plinth, which rests upon the podium.